MARCH 2017
NEWSLETTER
noblehousehotels.com | 425.827.8737 | 600 6th Street South Kirkland, WA
ARGONAUT HOTEL & THE TUSCAN HOTEL
opportunity to meet the Wine Train team and they truly enjoyed the experience.
The Tuscan and Argonaut hotels selected the Alemany Farm in San Francisco for their 4th Quarter Joint Volunteer Day project. The Alemany Farm is an organic farm run by volunteers to benefit the Southeast community of San Francisco. They spent their time planting artichokes, weeding, mulching and soil prepping. They harvested and took home some kale, green beans, lettuce, tomatoes, sunchokes, feijoa and gooseberries.
Guysell Geter, Hotel Operations Manager at the Argonaut Hotel, received the 2016 CH&LA (California Hotel & Lodging Association) Outstanding Manager of the Year. Guysell’s hospitality story is truly inspirational and is proof that hard work, dedication, and a “can-do” attitude is valued!! In addition to his award presentation, Guysell also received an ice cream celebration at the Argonaut, where he was congratulated by the entire staff. Also present were Jaz Jeanne, Mark Gervais and Chris Gautier. Guysell will now compete in the National level for the same category. Good luck GG!!
In October, Blue Mermaid competed in the annual Wharf Fest Chowder competition and proudly took home the first place award with a Crawfish and Crab Chowder. Eleven restaurants battled it out, including both Pescatore and Blue Mermaid competing. Congrats to our very own Elias Moreno and Adrian Garde for bringing the title to the Blue Mermaid! Housekeeping Week was full of activities at both hotels. Each day, a different department thanked the Housekeeping team for their dedication, hard work and service to our guests. The Green team took part on a Recology Site Tour. They toured their recycling facility, transfer station, environmental learning center, and the sculpture garden. The Argonaut’s A&G team had their team building retreat onboard the Wine Train. It was a great
Turkey was served by Nikki and several managers for the Thanksgiving luncheon at the Tuscan.
A S S O C I AT E S P O T L I G H T
GUYSELL
A&G TEAM
ALEM ANY FARM VOLUNTEER TEAM
ROCHA
GREEN TEAM
MORENO & GARDE
TUSCAN TURKE Y
ICE CREAM WITH MARK
TETON MOUNTAIN LODGE & HOTEL TERRA Associates enjoyed a Pancake Breakfast welcoming our Jamaican H2Bs and Peruvian J1s. They served pancakes with fresh berries, breakfast sausage, bacon, and orange juice and it was a hit! The resort gets a whole new housekeeping team every 4 months and food is always a great welcome gift! The chefs flip real pancakes---none of that frozen stuff!
RIVER TERRACE INN The managers at River Terrace Inn had a fun afternoon at a baseball game just prior to the start of renovations at the hotel. They needed a break before the bulldozer showed up!
LITTLE PALM ISLAND I think whenever the associates at Little Palm Island can enjoy snow cones and tacos it’s a way of enjoying the small things in life! It certainly adds to their smiles and attitudes, which is reflective of the service they provide to our guests on the island……..All Smiles!
PORTOFINO HOTEL & MARINA Associates having fun happens throughout the day at The Portofino! Smiles, group pictures in the parking lot, managers helping out in housekeeping and pizza for room attendants!
HILTON SAN DIEGO RESORT & SPA You never know what the associates are doing to have a little fun at the Hilton - Dancing, costume contest (Best “Day of the Dead” costume & Best “Dress Like Your Favorite Manager” costume), photo booth pictures It’s all about the energy and enthusiasm of the team! If you don’t believe me, stop in sometime... it will be rocking!
KONA KAI RESORT & SPA Celebrating at the Holiday party was an event with lots of prizes and great food! All the managers pitched in to help set-up and serve the associates! The culinary team was able to prepare some of their personal recipes for the party—Yum! The Sales Team celebrated one of our Core Values – “Have Fun”!
PELICAN GRAND BEACH RESORT P E L- I - C A N H E R O I S M AWA R D Terry Poole - Recreation On Friday, October 21st, a guest’s son lost his retainer. Terry jumped into action immediately and searched the ocean for almost an hour and found it.
POOLE
Pelican Grand upgraded the Team Members Cafeteria. Alessandro Rocha, Bell Staff, won the renaming of the cafeteria - the team members can enjoy their meals now in the Starbeach CafĂŠ! Front Office, Spa, and F&B represented Pelican Grand at the Covenant House to decorate for the holidays for homeless youths and mothers seeking shelter and employment.
ROCHA
After Hurricane Matthew struck the island of Haiti, Pelican Grand, along with the W and Embassy Suites Ft. Lauderdale, collected a cargo ship container of supplies i.e. clothes, blankets, dry food, and toiletries. Frantz LaPlante - OCEAN2000 Restaurant personally gave out the items late December to the people in the town of Bainet, Haiti.
PELICAN COVENANT HOUSE CREW
LAPLAYA BEACH & GOLF RESORT A S S O C I AT E S P O T L I G H T Lina Moreno Housekeeping Supervisor transferred to the Spa as a Massage therapist. She is a success story! She worked her way up through the Housekeeping department to Supervisor and decided to change career paths. She went to school while working full time in Housekeeping and graduated and passed her licensing exam and moved to the Spa as a Massage therapist. She was hired in Housekeeping on 11/13/10 and moved the Spa 1/5/17. There was lots of great food and smiles at the holiday luncheon and tons of great prizes. The associates enjoyed a meal prepared by a 1st class team of chefs! At the health fair, Valorie Richardson had to walk the line! ---the Sheriff Department was standing by!
VALORIE RICHARDSON
LINA MORENO
SANTANA-BELL
OCEAN KEY RESORT & SPA 2016 NOBLE GEM Kevin Santana-Bell | Valet Attendant Kevin is a definite Noble Gem. Kevin is genuinely charming with our guests, giving them that “Warm Welcome to Ocean Key” during the arrival experience comes with ease.
2016 ROOKIE OF THE YEAR Claudia Franco | SpaTerre Coordinator
FRANCO
Rookie of the Year Criteria: • A willingness to help any department for the betterment of the resort. • Possesses excitement for departmental and personal success. • Has adapted and embraced the Ocean Key values.
2016 EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR Ihtiyor Sharipov Housekeeping Houseman Natasha’s “Go To Man” Ihtiyor has been with Ocean Key since 2012. Ihtiyor demonstrates excellence and inspires others to perform at their best. We are a better team because of Ihtiyor! His dedication and commitment are essential to the success at OKR.
HOUSEKEEPING TEAM
SHARIPOV
COMPANY GIVE BACK Two of our very long-term associates, Jean E. Jean and Dilhomme Lundi that work at Ocean Key Resort, had family members that were severely affected by Hurricane Matthew as it ripped through Haiti in late September of 2016. The team at Ocean Key donated $250 to each of them and Noble House matched it to help them re-build. They were both very grateful!
LUNDI
JEAN YOSHIOKA
SPATERRE Congratulations to Miho Yoshioka for receiving the Spa Director of the 3rd Quarter Award. Miho has the awesome job of working with our guests at Little Palm Island!
CENTRAL RESERVATIONS C O N G R AT U L AT I O N S L I L I Lili Lins is a fantastic member of our central reservations team who has worked for us just over a year. In mid- October through the end of 2016, the Kona Kai Resort & Spa sponsored an incentive for the most revenue booked. Lili booked $57,796.40 in revenue for Kona Kai between Oct. 12 and December 31, 2016. For her hard work and knowledge of the Kona Kai Resort & Spa, Lili has received a certificate and it is redeemable for 2 roundtrip airline tickets from Seattle to San Diego, 2 nights’ accommodations at the Kona Kai, $200 Food and Beverage allowance and an overall VIP experience at the resort. Lili does a great job representing all of our properties. Last summer she visited the Pelican Grand Beach Resort, La Playa Beach & Golf Resort, Ocean Key Resort, and the Inn at Key West. Along with her fabulous trip to San Diego, Lili will again be traveling this summer to see Gateway Canyons Resort & Spa along with our two fabulous properties in Jackson Hole, WY, Teton Mountain Lodge & Hotel Terra. Congratulations to Lili for a job well done. She is an exceptional employee and we wish to thank her for going above and beyond to service our guests!
LINS
TEAM SANTA
TEAM REINDEER TEAM ELF TEAM CHRISTMAS TREE
COMPANY OFFICE, KIRKLAND The company office enjoyed a very competitive bowling tournament as their holiday event. The teams dressed appropriately to represent their team! Lots of fun!
Beyond his passion for culinary, Chef’s love for his wife and daughter are evident in even the quickest of conversations. Make sure to ask Chef to see the newest video of what Georgie is up to these days! We can’t forget his talent for drawing, love for plaid and the most entertaining and storytelling #hashtags in the city!! Congratulations Chef! We are so proud to have you as part of our Edge family!
FOOD & BEVERAGE We are pleased to announce that Chef Jesse Souza has been named 2016 F&B Leader of the Year by Noble House! Chef’s career has lead him to many NH properties and we are so pleased that he decided to make The Edge his home, joining us two years ago. He has taken Six Seven to the next level with his culinary creations and his passion for food! His creativity has sparked the culinary team, coupled with excellent service from the front of the house, Six Seven’s Restaurant & Lounge continues to win numerous awards and be recognized for the icon Chef has created!
SOUZA
LOBSTER MAC & CHEESE INGREDIENTS Makes 8 small portions
ese n che mac lobster
9� baking dish 1 pound dried elbow macaroni 4 tablespoons unsalted butter 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped 1 garlic clove, minced 1/3 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled) 3 cups whole milk 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper 1 pound coarsely chopped cooked lobster, shrimp, crawfish, and/or crabmeat 4 cups (1 pound) mixed grated cheeses such as Parmesan, Cheddar, Swiss, and Fontina 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs 1 tablespoon Old Bay Seasoning
DIRECTIONS 1.
2.
3.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook macaroni 2 minutes less than al dente. Drain; rinse with cold water. Set aside. While pasta is cooking, melt butter over medium in a large saucepan. Transfer 2 tablespoons melted butter to a medium bowl, and reserve. Add onion and garlic to pan; cook until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add flour; cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add milk; whisk until smooth. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer, and cook until sauce has thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Season with 3/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and nutmeg. Remove pan from heat. Fold in seafood, macaroni, and cheese; transfer to a shallow 4-quart baking dish. To bowl with reserved melted butter, add breadcrumbs and Old Bay seasoning; toss, and scatter over macaroni mixture. Place baking dish on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until topping is golden and sauce is bubbling, 5 to 20 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!!!
A NOTE FROM JAZ As we begin 2017, there are two things I would like us to focus on this year as a Noble House team! One, we must continue to take care of each other by working in a safe environment. Please bring unsafe working conditions and behaviors to our attention. Secondly, we sometimes get so focused on budgets, staffing guides, policies, construction, etc., that we forget about the real reason we are here: “To take care of our guests and their needs and to meet their expectations!” If we can make their visit a memorable one by doing the little things that matter, such as a call-back after they check into their room to check for satisfaction or remembering their name, it can make a big difference in how they view our hotels and resorts. As you know our industry is constantly changing with more educated guests and the impact of social media on their selection of a great hotel or resort. They want more for less! Realistically, we all make purchases and expect the same—more for less! Our guests are looking for something special when they select our hotels and, it is up to us to make sure they ‘find it’ before they leave us. So the next time you visit with a guest, search for the details in the conversation to see if you can identify what they are looking for and help make it special in any way you can. Inform your teammates and have them add their own special touch to the occasion. It’s all in our Core Values! Be safe….Jaz
noblehousehotels.com | 425.827.8737 | 600 6th Street South Kirkland, WA